Qiyu continued searching the trading page, but perhaps seeds aren’t that easy to obtain, or maybe the people who got them didn’t want to trade them—he didn’t find a second pack of seeds.

There were also inquiries about the wooden bed.

The first person to ask looked familiar.

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: Did you get a furniture blueprint? That’s lucky. How do I trade for the wooden bed?】

【ID2334788: 60 units of wood.】 

The other party didn’t beat around the bush and quickly agreed to the trade. A minute later, Qiyu traded the wooden bed over. The second person to inquire also looked familiar.

【Good Night Want To Sleep: Hello, how do I trade for a wooden bed?】

【ID2334788: 60 units of wood.】

Because the chat was anonymous, Good Night Want To Sleep didn’t realize that Qiyu was the “acquaintance” he’d just traded with.

【Good Night Want To Sleep: Can I trade something else for it?】

【ID2334788: Wooden beds require wood as a crafting material, and I don’t have that much wood.】

【Good Night Want To Sleep: …Sorry to bother you.】

A few more people asked sporadically after that, but they all backed off once they heard the requirement.

60 units of wood is an absolutely massive amount for survival players at this stage. 

Even if they manage to gather all that wood, there are still the upgrade requirements for the wooden cabin to consider. It’s just sleeping on the floor—they’ll tough it out for a while.

Qiyu mused, “My fate is determined by me, not the heavens.” True to form for someone who’s opened a silver chest—he really is rich. He sold another basic backpack and traded it for a 【sunflower straw hat】. 

The sunflower straw hat has no special stats; it’s just an ordinary sun hat with a circle of plump sunflowers embroidered around the brim.  It’s really pretty.

Qiyu ran his fingertips over the hat’s delicate texture, finding it hard to put down. After waiting a while, no orders came in.

He placed the little hat carefully against the wall next to his head, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. 

People who have lived in the post-apocalyptic world for years have developed the ability to fall asleep quickly no matter the environment. On his first night in the survival game, Qiyu slept a rare, restful sleep. 

Night gave way to day.

The moment the light inside the wooden cabin shifted ever so slightly, the person who had been lying on the bed in a deep sleep instantly opened his eyes. His gaze was clear and alert, showing not a trace of drowsiness.

Qiyu glanced at the interface, which now read 8:00 AM. 

He woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated; sure enough, his stamina was fully restored.

He picked up the wooden axe and opened the door.

The few stalks of sisal grass left by the door last night were nowhere to be seen. The tree he had chopped down yesterday in front of the wooden cabin had also returned to its original state.

Qiyu felt a mixture of joy and worry. He picked out a tree, picked up his axe, and started chopping away with a series of thuds. Perhaps because he had become more skilled, this time he managed to fell a tree in just twenty minutes. 【Critical Hit Triggered, Obtained Wood x20】

A great start.

In high spirits, he stowed the wood in his backpack, wrapping up his morning warm-up.

He took out some water and steamed buns from his backpack, finished breakfast, grabbed the wooden axe, stowed the dagger in his backpack, and set off to explore. Yesterday, while exploring the surrounding area, he’d found three treasure chests—a bountiful haul. He hoped today would bring the same luck as yesterday.

Walking about a hundred meters east from the wooden cabin, Qiyu spotted a wooden treasure chest beneath a tree. Just as he was about to walk over, his footsteps suddenly halted, and he turned his head to look to the left.

A gray shadow darted swiftly through the grass. A living creature!

Qiyu quickly stowed the chest in his backpack and gave chase after the shadow.

He hadn’t seen a single living creature all day yesterday and had assumed there was no other life in the safe zone besides himself. Could there actually be?

The gray shadow was extremely fast, but Qiyu was still faster.

After chasing for a few minutes, he finally got a clear look at what it was.

It was a furry animal about thirty centimeters long, with two long ears and four legs. Qiyu had seen this creature in books; it was called a rabbit. 

The blue badge in the palm of his hand emitted a faint glow. Feeling a surge of intuition, Qiyu aimed it at the gray rabbit in front of him.

【Gale Rabbit, Level 1 Mutant Creature, delicious meat.】

Seeing the word “mutant,” Qiyu felt a chill run down his spine as a reflex.

The next second, his attention was drawn to the phrase “delicious meat.”

He told himself that this was a survival game, and the mutated creatures here were different from the ones back home. Look, not only do they have delicate, refined features, but the game system has also stamped them as having delicious meat.

They’re nothing like the grotesque, mostly poisonous, inedible mutants back home. Without hesitation, Qiyu picked up the pace, raised his axe, and charged forward.

The gray rabbit kicked out with all four limbs and, just as Qiyu closed in, suddenly spun around.

Its front paw shot up, and a pale gray, blade-like object flew from its claw, hurtling toward Qiyu at breakneck speed.

Qiyu didn’t slow down; he shifted his body slightly to dodge the attack, raised his right hand, and a dagger—which had appeared in his palm at some point—flared into view. 1 Whoosh!

The dagger shot out like lightning.

Thud! It sank firmly into the rabbit’s hind leg, pinning it firmly to the ground.

Qiyu, axe in hand, walked over.

As he drew near, the wounded rabbit on the ground widened its moist, round eyes and gazed at him imploringly.

“Squeak, squeak,” it chirped softly, as if begging for mercy.

Upon closer inspection, he could clearly see the little creature’s fluffy, soft fur.

“How cute,” Qiyu marveled.

As if sensing his mood, the rabbit chirped twice more.

“A gale rabbit this cute must taste delicious,” Qiyu said eagerly.

After two breaths, the adorable rabbit vanished in a flash of white light. Two glowing orbs appeared on the ground.

【Received 500g of gale rabbit meat x3, leather x2, rabbit fur x10】

Another beam of light revealed a fine iron chest. 

Qiyu: !

So killing mutated creatures doesn’t just drop delicious food—it can also drop treasure chests.

【Congratulations on your first mutant kill. Your combat stats panel has been unlocked.】

Qiyu：？

He opened his personal stats panel:

Survival ID: I Love Survival Game Age: 19

Shelter: Initial Wooden Cabin (Durability 100/100), upgradeable. 

Next Level: level one shelter (Sturdy Log Cabin) 

Talent: Farming·Mutated (Beginner)

Satiety: 90/100 

Stamina: 88/100 

Health: 100/100

Several new stats have been added: 

Attack: 13

Defense: 11

Agility: 17

Mental Power: 734

Without any point of reference, Qiyu didn’t know if these numbers were high or low.

But based on the information he’d gathered from the chat channel, his combat stats compared to these Earth humans should be… pretty decent? 

Also, compared to the other stats, this Mental Power figure seems a bit too high. 

He casually opened the chat channel, glanced through it for a moment, saw that no one was discussing this topic, and closed it.

Time is precious. Since he knew that killing mutated creatures would yield treasure chests and rewards, he couldn’t afford to waste any time.

The newbie protection period only lasted a few days.

Over the next two hours, he carefully explored the entire perimeter of the safe zone surrounding the wooden cabin. He found two wooden chests.

He also encountered a mutated beast.

The mutated beast was about the same height as Qiyu, covered in sharp spikes, with two ferocious fangs. Compared to the gale rabbit, it wasn’t as fast, but its destructive power was astonishing. 

It was also from this mutated beast that Qiyu made a discovery.

The moment he spotted the massive mutated beast, it spotted him too.

Perhaps deeming this frail biped a non-threat, the beast gave him a cursory glance before ignoring him. But with a creature of such massive proportions, Qiyu didn’t think the average person could handle it alone.

Setting aside other factors, if that massive, brutish creature were to charge at him, he didn’t think the flimsy door of his wooden cabin would hold up. Wasn’t it said that the first three days of the survival game were safe for new players?

To test his theory, he took out a piece of gale rabbit meat he’d obtained from hunting a gale rabbit earlier, wrapped it in a tree leaf, held it in his hand, and waved it in front of the beast.

The mutated beast clearly caught the scent of fresh meat; the look in its eyes as it turned toward him was one of intense hunger.

But it was merely a longing; he pawed the ground restlessly, yet made no move to attack Qiyu.

It seemed the survival game had imposed some kind of restriction on them.

During the newbie period, these mutated creatures won’t—or rather, can’t—actively attack players.

But if a player provokes them, that restriction is lifted. Take now, for example: Qiyu was currently being chased by a mutant barbarian fang boar. 

Yes, the Survival System’s scan results had just informed him that this was a 【Level 2 Mutant Barbarian Fang Boar】. 1 Without a suitable weapon, going head-to-head with a mutant barbarian fang boar weighing several hundred kilograms would be quite a struggle.

Qiyu only has an axe—and that’s all he has. The beast’s hide looks incredibly tough; he wouldn’t want to break it.

After being chased for about five minutes, the mutant barbarian fang boar slowed down a bit, no longer charging recklessly as before.

Now’s the time. 

Qiyu’s eyes—once pitch-black—glowed with a faint silver light.

The mutant barbarian fang boar didn’t notice, but the plants on either side of the path were growing wildly and silently, extending vines that spread out like a menacing hunting net. The coarse vines wrapped around the mutant beast’s body, encasing it in a giant cocoon, their sharp thorns piercing its flesh.

“That was way too dangerous. I can’t take such risks next time,” Qiyu muttered, leaning against a tree trunk, his silver-glinting eyes fixed on

The prey is still struggling.

A silent will descends.

【Strangle.】 

Moments later, the vines turned to ash. A white light flickered on the ground.

【Killed a Level 2 mutant barbarian fang boar. Obtained 100 kg of mutant barbarian fang boar meat, 30 fine leather, 1 barbarian fang dagger, 1 barbarian fang bracers】 

【Obtained a brass chest. Open it?】

Another chest he’s never seen before.

The brass chest was the same size as the others, but compared to the wooden and fine iron chests, its color was far too flashy. The golden chest shimmered with a dazzling glow under the sunlight.

It looks expensive at first glance!